The Lagos State government has banned commissioners and special assistants from appointing personal assistants from outside the state’s public service.

The state noted that appointments of personal assistants are not in consonance with the structure of the state’s public service.

This was disclosed in a circular with reference number 070, dated August 18, 2023, and signed by the state Head of Service (HOS), Hakeem Muri-Okunola, which was obtained by THE WHISTLER on Tuesday.

“It is hereby notified for general information that appointments of Personal Assistants from outside the State Public Service by the Honourable Commissioners and Special Advisers, (Cabinet & Non Cabinet Rank) in the discharge of their day to day functions is not in line with the structure in the State Public Service as they will not be allowed any privileges nor permitted to view official documents,” Muri-Okunola said.

While acknowledging the important role personal assistants play in supporting political appointees towards effective service delivery, Muri-Okunola stated that the support staff could be internally sourced from Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) in the state by ensuring that qualified and competent officers were assigned to commissioners and special assistants, so as not to increase the wage bill of the government.

The Head of Service advised political appointees requesting personal assistants to liaise with the accounting officer of affected MDAs.

“Consequently, political appointees requesting the need of personal assistants are hereby enjoined to liaise with the accounting officer of affected MDAs and subsequently forward the officer’s name to the Public Service Office for deployment.

“Accordingly, accounting officers are enjoined to note the contents of this circular and give it the deserved service wide publicity,” he said.

Yesterday, 45 Ministers took the oath of office as Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria pursuant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu exercising executive powers as granted under Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution, and in line with Section 147(3). These Ministers of the “Restored Hope Agenda”, we are told have a mandate to deliver Tinubu’s eight-point agenda as stated in his election manifesto to wit: national security, economy, agriculture, power, oil and gas, transportation, education, and healthcare, with special emphasis on economy and security.

What immediately stands out about this cabinet is that it is the largest since Nigeria’s return to civilian rule in 1999, and given Nigeria’s current economic situation, this is somewhat disappointing as it signals a resort to “big government” with heavy cost implications. President Olusegun Obasanjo began in 1999 with a cabinet of 42 Ministers (1999 – 2003), which he later reduced to 27, and had increased to 30 by the time he was leaving office in 2007. In 2007, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had a 39-member cabinet. President Goodluck Jonathan appointed a cabinet of 33 Ministers (2011-2014), and later 37 just before the 2015 general elections. In 2015, President Buhari appointed 36 Ministers, later increased to 42 in 2019. Although 45 Ministers were sworn in yesterday, it must be noted that President Tinubu actually nominated a total of 48 Ministers – three of whom were told to await further screening – Stella Okotete (Delta) Senator Abubakar Danladi (Taraba) and Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna). El-Rufai has since announced that he is no longer interested with a cryptic Marley-an “Who The Cap Fits” declaration that “man to man is so unjust…your best friend could be your worst enemy”. That is another interesting matter worthy of full commentary. But if you were to add a list of 45 ministers, which may possibly increase to 48 later, to the 20 slots for Special Advisers earlier approved by the Senate for the President, and the accompanying appointment of Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants, President Tinubu is set to run the most bloated government since 1999. This is curious in the light of the fact that many Nigerians had expected a lean government, to save costs and increase efficiency.

The current state of Nigeria’s economy is frightening, with over 113 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty; headline inflation at 24.08%; food inflation – 26.98%, Nigeria’s unemployment rate is about 41%, debt service to revenue ratio is calculated at about 90%, total debt is over N81 trillion, the available band for more borrowings is extremely narrow. Under such a scenario, the basic expectation would be for government to trim its size at all levels and tighten its belt. The only thing we have heard is the Federal Government asking the people to make sacrifice: fuel subsidy has been removed, resulting in increase in the pump price of fuel, the fuel exchange rate has been harmonized resulting in over 16% depreciation of the Naira, and a rampaging epidemic of empty pockets among the people, with the people trooping to the streets in Yola, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and elsewhere pleading with the government “to please allow them to “breathe”.

On top of it all, the Federal Government has announced plans to achieve an 18% tax to GDP ratio by 2024, and even if Taiwo Oyedele, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy Reforms says this would not mean higher taxation, the simple logic is that the people would be required to make more sacrifices to help government generate much-needed revenue. What is shocking is that whereas government is imposing a regime of austerity, the Nigerian government at all levels is not showing a similar commitment in the governance process, and this much was confirmed again yesterday by the sheer size of the Federal Government. Many would recall that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass upon assumption of office recently announced the recruitment of 33 aides! The Senate President also has a similar number of 33 aides, and in total, the 10th National Assembly members have since June appointed about 3, 000 legislative aides! It is worse at the state level. The Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri recently appointed 47 media aides; the Governor of Kano State Abba Yusuf has appointed 97 persons as special advisers and assistants. In Niger state, Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has 131 aides, all of them women. Whereas the President may claim that he is exercising his powers under the Constitution, he has in actual fact created more Ministries. Obasanjo at a time had 27 Ministers, and still fulfilled Constitutional provisions. Jonathan had 33, and still did not violate the Constitution. It is to be expected that Tinubu’s Ministers would soon announce their own aides, further bloating the size of government. Under Tinubu’s government, the cost of governance would shoot through the roof, with the expansion of size, staff and bureaucracy.

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the media and other informed groups in society had urged before now, that one of the main priorities of President Tinubu’s “Restored Hope” agenda should be the implementation of the famous Oronsaye Report – an 800-page 2012 Report on the Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies which stated that the Federal Government alone has 541 parastatals, 929 MDAs, and that there should be mergers, complete abolitions, and rationalizations to block wastages and duplications and ensure efficiency. It is obvious that President Tinubu has no intention to take a look at the Oronsaye Report. In its June 2023 Nigeria Development Update (NDU), the World Bank had also recommended that for Nigeria, it was now “time for business unusual”. It seems so obvious that well, business will remain as usual in the governance arena, and our fear is that a day may well come when Nigerians will begin to praise President Buhari as things currently stand! And that will be a completion of our worst nightmare.

The process of appointing these Ministers was not impressive enough. Those who know Tinubu and his antecedents were convinced that he would hit the ground running and that he would have no difficulties identifying strong talents, a team of the best and the brightest that would help him deliver on his mandate. But it has been one big anti-climax. It took close to the 60-day deadline, and additional days for the President to come up with a list of party loyalists, former Governors, close advisers from his days in Lagos, and a few technocrats. Nine former Governors, with one of them grudgingly withdrawing conveys a veil of staleness, no matter the experience that the former Governors may bring to the table. The kind of unsureness that governed the list is also embarrassing. During the screening process, the President had to substitute the name of the Kano nominee, Maryam Shetty. Nobody even had the decency to inform her. She only got to know when she got to the Senate for her screening. Nobody deserves to be treated so shabbily.

To worsen matters, it only occurred to the President on the. eve of the inauguration of the Ministers to make last minute changes. He reassigned the 66-year-old Abubakar Momoh whom he had named as Minister of Youth to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. Young Nigerians had complained that a 66-year-old politician as Minister of Youth was an odd choice. The Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) had also raised an alarm about the non-inclusion of the Niger Delta in the list of Ministries. Then the Ministers-designate for Transportation, Interior, and Marine and Blue Economy were reshuffled. The Ministry of Environment and Ecological Management was renamed as the Federal Ministry of Environment. This back and forth looks untidy. It shows lack of preparedness, someone certainly was not paying attention to details about credentials, nomenclature and vested interests. If the President’s excuse is that the last-minute reshuffling is to ensure that the right persons are in the right places, then his attempt does not go far enough. It is one of the reasons why we argue that portfolios should be attached to Ministerial nominations to provide enough room for adjustments before the nominees are eventually confirmed. Further, there are fewer women than expected on the Ministerial list, and there are persons who think that the women have been given decorative positions. This is feedback that the President should pay attention to and address as he makes other appointments into the MDAs. And why is there no person living with disability on the list?

For the most part, the Ministerial list looks like an attempt by the President to settle political IOUs. Every President in appointing their first cabinets feel obliged to settle those who worked for their victory. But even at that, there are many aggrieved APC members and foot-soldiers who must genuinely feel left out, because they believe they deserve to share the spoils of victory. However, Nigerians are not interested in “jobs for the boys”. They want a quality team. This is why the present cabinet must be rejigged within a year or 18 months at best. President Tinubu must constantly move people around and recruit only the best. Ministerial positions must not be treated as chieftaincy titles. The kind of sit-tight, “Kabiyesi syndrome” that we witnessed under President Buhari, with some Ministers staying in office for eight years and remaining anonymous and ineffectual throughout - must not be allowed to happen this time around. Nigerians want Ministers who are ready to serve, not traditional chiefs of Aso Villa.

The President has talked about giving the Ministers a Performance Index. This is also known as Key Performance Indicators (KPI), very important but it must not be couched in general terms such as the emphasis on the eight-point agenda. It must be Ministry and sector-specific, and if any Minister does not show enough promise or capacity within the next 18 months, he or she must be turned adrift without fear or favour. Nigerians are impatient. The Federal Executive Council must be seen to work truly in the best interest of the people. It is standard practice to organize seminars and retreats for newly appointed Ministers. Whatever syllabus may have been chosen for the class of 2023 certain specific subjects must be addressed. It is not enough to pack documents inside conference bags – a copy of the Constitution, Public Service Rules and Regulations, the Procurement Act or some other briefing notes – NO. There must be a proper breakdown of expectations Ministry by Ministry and robust discussions. Nigerians don’t like to read except when there is an examination to be passed; putting documents together and hoping that the Ministers would read on their own would be presumptuous. Many of them probably don’t know what their Ministry is all about. They have to be taught and guided.

As is often the case, they are probably thinking of the contracts that they will award through their Ministries and what would be in it for them. They need to be given a crash course in the details of the Procurement Act and Public Service Rules. Out of ignorance, many past Ministers depend on civil servants who lead them by the nose and astray. Having sound knowledge of procurement is part of the process. It is tied to budget performance and defined regulations.

These Ministers also need to be told that they are Ministers of the Federal Republic with responsibility to all the people and parts of Nigeria, regardless of religion, political affiliation, class or gender and the President was right in stressing this yesterday. Cronyism, nepotism, prejudice are the major afflictions in Nigeria’s governance process. New Ministers would come under severe pressure, both external and self-imposed, to use their positions to settle their own incurred political costs. The party in their wards, local governments and states would call on them to remind them that it is their slot they are using and that they owe them an obligation to fund the party in the state, employ children from the state, award contracts to contractors from within the party and ensure major projects are brought to the community that produced them because “it is their turn”. Nigerians are very good at blaming leadership but the followers themselves are mean. A Minister would be asked to come and help pay hospital bills for newly delivered babies, even when he had no knowledge of the pregnancy: “Honourable Minister, we thank God oh, your wife has just put to bed”. The Minister is likely to be confused because his wife probably gave birth to his last child 15 years ago! But every woman in his state would suddenly become his wife, every pregnancy his own, every wedding must receive his blessing. Some other pressures are self-imposed. To keep the job, for example, some Ministers think that they are obliged to build goodwill among the informal circle around the President – very dangerous people - who exploit their proximity to the President to amass unmerited wealth. They promise appointments and access, and bear tales by moonlight. Many Ministers make the mistake of focusing more on this informal ring of vipers, but others commit the crime of thinking that they must take every project to the President’s home-town or state, to gain favour as a result. Tinubu must discourage such sycophancy.

Pastor Tunde Bakare has already warned about an emerging pattern of “imperial Presidency” in his recent State of the Nation Address. The term as described in a book of the same title by Arthur M. Schlesinger (Houghton Mifflin, 1973, 2004) refers to the abuse of power, its reckless use, and a President getting carried away with his own importance. No government can break the law without the President’s consent, because the buck stops at his desk. Nigerians have a way of misleading their Presidents with excessive sycophancy and Aso Rock is the headquarters of sycophancy. Even the best of men can be tempted like Samson, the Israelite. There are those men who in the President’s presence would immediately go down on their knees and start crawling towards him from a distance, bowing and scraping the floor and intoning “rankadede sir”. Others would prostrate. Oftentimes, such persons are clutching a file under their arms. They want the President’s signature. Whoever acts in that manner should be asked to stand up immediately and stop scraping the floor! Tinubu must make it clear that such flattery would not work with him. Work has begun for the Ministers. It won’t be long before the misfits among them will be exposed.

Globally, subsidies, whether for food, transportation, energy or housing, are part of good governance. So, the issue is not subsidies but who benefit from them. In Nigeria, subsidies are primarily of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. I will highlight a few, how they are being manipulated and how huge sums of money can be recovered not just to subsidize fuel but also provide funds for development.

1. Diversion of N40 billion from Federation Account

A company, Continental Transfert Technique had been hired by the Ministry of Interior to collect the Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Alien Card (CERPAC) Fee of $2,000 per annum from every expatriate in Nigeria. The revenue from 2019 comes to an average of N40 billion per annum. This collection which violates Section 162 of the Constitution and provisions of the Immigration Act 2015, is then shared on percentages of Federal Government, 30, Interior Ministry, 7, Immigration Service, and Continental Transfert Technique, 58 per-cent.

We challenged this illegality at the Federal High Court and won the cases. The court directed the NIS to collect the funds henceforth and remit same to the Federation Account. But the contractor and the federal government appealed against the judgment and have continued to share the N40 billion per annum.

2. Additional Revenue of $1.5 billion payable to Federation Account

In July 2015, I drew the attention of the Federal Government to the fact that the 15-year fiscal incentives given to the oil and gas companies operating under the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act had expired in June 2014. When the Federal Government ignored our request, we drafted a Bill for the amendment of the law. The Bill which was adopted and sponsored by Senator T. Orji scaled the first reading in the Senate but was not passed before the dissolution of the 8th National Assembly.

However, the same Bill was modified and passed by both houses of the 9th National Assembly and assented to by President Buhari on November 4, 2019. In justifying the passage of this Bill, Senate President Ahmed Lawan announced that the new law would increase the revenue of the nation by not less than $1.5 billion per annum.

3. Outstanding royalties of $62 billion

In campaigning for the amendment of the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act, I requested the Federal Government to collect outstanding royalties payable by the International Oil Companies under the Act. The Federal Government admitted that the country had lost a whopping sum of $60 billion. But my demand for the collection of the huge fund was ignored.

The governments of Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa States then approached the Supreme Court which on October 20, 2018 ordered the Federal Government to collect the royalties for the past 18 years. The Federal Government confirmed that the outstanding royalty withheld by the IOCs is $62 billion but has refused to collect it.

4. FG denied revenue of $500 million by a group of corrupt public officers

The international Cargo Tracking Note Scheme to protect international shipping and prevent the movement of dangerous cargo and arms shipments was introduced into Nigeria in 2010 via an agreement between the Nigerian Port Authority and TPMS, a private company. Barely a year later, the agreement was suspended. When our attention was drawn to the illegal suspension of the Cargo Tracking Note system, we protested and the suspension was lifted on May 28, 2015 only to be suspended again in 2016.

In 2022, President Buhari issued an executive order which authorized a company to operate the Cargo Tracking Note. But 5 companies sponsored by top government functionaries overruled the President and hijacked the contract. The company that won the contract has since sued the federal government at the Federal High Court. Meanwhile, Nigeria has lost at least $500 million while the security of the nation has been compromised by a bunch of corrupt public officers.

5. Sale of public assets and enterprises

Successive regimes have been selling assets and enterprises owned by the Federal Government to members of the ruling class in the name of privatisation. The buyers turned round to engage in asset stripping. According to the Bureau of Public Enterprises, between 2004 and 2002, the federal government sold 142 public enterprises to members of the ruling class.
The 10 per cent shares reserved for the staff of every privatised enterprise have been cornered by the so called "core investors" contrary to the provision of section 5(3) òf the Privatization and Commercialization Act.

6. $7 billion fixed in 14 banks

Sometime in 2006, the CBN yanked off $7 billion from the nation’s foreign reserves and fixed it in 14 commercial banks in Nigeria. The deposit and the accrued interests were not recovered from the banks. When I reported the matter to one one of the anti-graft agencies, the CBN claimed that it had forgiven “the forbearance”.

7. Sale of Polaris by Heritage Bank, Keystone Bank, Union Bank and Polaris Bank by CBN

The CBN took over Heritage Bank, Keystone Bank, Union Bank and Polaris Bank, spent trillions of Naira to revitalise them only to turn round to sell them under the table. For instance, CBN invested N1.3 trillion in Polaris Bank but sold it for N50 billion!

8. Theft of Crude oil

The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has revealed that Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at N16.25 trillion ($46.16 billion) to crude oil theft between 2009 and 2020. Immediate past National Security Adviser, General Babagana said that Nigeria might lose $23 billion in 2023 to crude oil theft.

9. Theft of gold and other solid minerals

The theft of the nation’s mineral resources is not limited to crude as solid minerals are equally smuggled out of the country by highly placed criminal elements. Former Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uche Ogah recently disclosed that private jets are being used by the rich for gold smuggling in Nigeria. He stated this at an investigative hearing on $9 billion annual loss to illegal mining and smuggling of gold organised by the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Mines, Steel Development and Metallurgy. During his contribution at the hearing, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu disclosed that Nigeria lost close to $54b from 2012-2018 due to illegal smuggling of gold.

10. AMCON is owed N5.4 trillion by the rich

A few years ago, commercial banks were going to collapse due to toxic loans taken by members of the ruling class. To prevent the impending economic doom, the Federal Government set up the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to buy off the loans with trillions of Naira provided by the CBN. AMCON has not been able to recover the loans of N5.4 trillion from about 370 corporate bodies.

11. Indiscriminate import duty waivers

A few privileged members of the business community buy dollars at official rate while they are allowed to import all manners of goods into the country. In the last 5 years, import duties worth N16 trillion were waived for them.
12. Effort to track and monitor tankers conveying fuel sabotage by NNPC

On August 8, 2018, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the installation of technology monitoring schemes and structures under the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) for N17 billion. The technology which was designed to track and monitor tankers conveying fuel and other petroleum products was not acquired while the N17 billion approved for it was diverted.

13. N10 trillion diverted by CEOs of Government enterprises

The Buhari government revealed on December 19, 2018 that government enterprises including the CBN owed about N10 trillion in unremitted operating surplus as at August 2018. The details were provided. The said sum of N10 trillion remains unpaid.

14. N6 trillion unpaid ground rents by buyers of Government properties

On March 29, 2023, the Senate noted that since 1992, over two million houses across the 36 states and the FCT had been built and allocated to beneficiaries by the federal government without evidence of payment of ground rent on the properties. Consequently, the Senate set up an Ad Hoc Committee to recover over N6 trillion unpaid ground rents from property owners in the country.

15. Stolen crude oil valued at $29.17 billion

A group of lawyers engaged by NIMASA confirmed that 60.2 million barrels of crude oil valued at $12.7 billion of crude oil was stolen and illegally exported to the United States of America between January 2011 and 2014. This has not been recovered. Also, the House of Representatives investigated and confirmed that undeclared crude oil worth $17 billion was exported to global destinations during the same period. The affected companies are known but government seems to lack the will to bring them to book and recover the sum of $29.7 billion being the value of the stolen crude.

16. Oil theft of N16.25 trillion

The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) revealed that between 2009 and 2020 Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at N16.25 trillion ($46.16 billion) to oil theft. The security forces have not been able to stop the stealing and smuggling of crude oil from Nigeria.

However, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd (TSSNL), a private company discovered pipelines through which crude oil was being diverted from a 40,000 barrel per day Forcados pipeline to the high seas for export. The indicted oil companies including an IOC involved in this grand theft are yet to be prosecuted.

17. Deduction of collection costs by FIRS & NCS

The Federal Inland Revenue Service and Nigeria Customs Service are allowed by their enabling laws to deduct percentages of the taxes and duties collected by them as collection costs. Thus, the FIRS between 2016 and 2020 made N533.39 billion deductions while Nigeria Customs Service withdrew N128.64 billion as cost of collection in 2022.

The laws which allow agencies of the Federal Government to deduct collection costs are contrary and inconsistent with section 162 of the Constitution which provides that all revenues collected by the Government of the Federation shall be paid into the Federation Account.

18. Diversion of $6.065 billion approved for turn-around maintenance of refineries

Between 1993 and 2016, successive regimes spent, through the NNPC, about $6.065 billon on the so-called turn around maintenance and rehabilitation of the four refineries at various times.

It is public knowledge that the turn-around maintenance of the refineries was not carried out. Therefore, the contractors should be invited by the EFCC and compelled to refund the said sum of $6.025 billion.

19. Investment in Dangote refinery and rehabilitation of 4 refineries

The Federal Government has invested $2.7 billion in Dangote Refinery while the NNPCL will supply the refinery with 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Furthermore, the Government has awarded the contracts for the rehabilitation of the two refineries in Port Harcourt for $1.5 billion, as well as Kaduna and Warri refineries for $1.4 billion.

We are compelled to call on the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress to monitor the ongoing rehabilitation and upgrade of the 4 refineries.

20. Special salaries for top public officers, security votes, and pension for governors

Top public officers have illegally taken themselves out of the general salary structure. For instance, contrary to section 70 of the Constitution which provides that the salaries and allowances of legislators shall be fixed by the Revenue Allocation Mobilization and Fiscal Commission the members of the National Assembly are paid emoluments ranging from N13 million to N15 million per month.

In addition to their salaries the 36 State Governors are paid security votes running into hundreds of millions per month. The largesse has since been extended to all senior public officers, including heads of ministries, departments, and agencies of the federal and state governments, as well as local government chairmen. The security votes paid to senior public officers are about N241 billion per annum.

As if such subsidy is not enough, state governors have been placed on scandalous pension of billions of Naira. But due to public criticisms, the Lagos State Government has halved the pension for ex-governors while the Governments of Kwara, Imo, and Zamfara States have abolished the payment of the outrageous pension to former governors and deputies. We call on all other state governments to emulate the example of the aforementioned 3 state governments.

21. Diversion of dividend and feed gas of $33 billion by NNPCL

Nigeria LNG Limited is jointly owned by Nigeria and the OICs. The 49% shares of Nigeria in the joint venture were paid for from the Federation Account in 1989. On March 29, 2021, former President Buhari disclosed that the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) had generated $114 billion in revenues, paid $9 billion in taxes, $18 billion as dividend and $15 billion in Feed Gas Purchase to the Federal Government. However, rather than pay the fund into the federation account as constitutionally directed, the $33.9 billion dividend and feed gas was diverted by the NNPCL.

22. Diversion of trillions of Naira through fuel subsidy fund

Notwithstanding the allocation of 445,000 barrels of crude oil to NNPC per day for domestic consumption, it has been confirmed that the figures for fuel importation in Nigeria between 1999 and 2023 are as follows:

1. 1999-2006 =N813 billion;

2. 2007-2009= N794 billion;

3. 2010-2014= N3.9 trillion;

4. 2015-2023= N11 trillion.

Last week, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Mele Kyari stunned the nation when he said that the federal government still owes the company N2.8 trillion in fuel subsidy payments. But the monumental fraud that has characterized the fuel subsidy scam has been confirmed by the Buhari regime.

Thus, on March 27, 2022, former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva publicly lamented the controversies surrounding the amount of petrol that the nation consumes daily, said the subsidy regime encouraged criminal activities like smuggling, which in turn impact negatively on the nation’s oil resources. He said that, “I am told the figure sometimes rise to as high as 90 or over 100 million litres. I don’t know how that happens. At this rate, I have said if anyone is looking at a criminal enterprise, look no further than the fuel subsidy.” The criminal enterprise ought to be probed by the Bola Tinubu administration.

Conclusion

It is crystal clear form the foregoing that members of the ruling class are heavily subsidized by the peripheral capitalist system while the masses are subjected to excruciating economic pains. We are therefore compelled to call on the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress as well as the progressive extraction of the civil society to mount pressure on the federal government to stop the dollarisation of the national economy, indiscriminate grant of duty waivers, theft of crude oil, gold, and other mineral resources and recover the nation’s looted wealth. In other words, these ‘subsidies’ should be recovered while the nation’s refineries are fixed so that the country can provide genuine subsidies that can make life livable in Nigeria.

Separation in gas, petroleum call for anarchy, stakeholders say
Nigeria heading in direction of Venezuela, experts insist
Bassey: Priorities on gas without ministry of environment, renewable disastrous

Nigeria’s bleeding oil and gas sector, which is gasping for fresh breath after eight years of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s poor handling, may be heading for a final collapse if President Bola Tinubu follows the path of his predecessor by reserving the ministry for himself, stakeholders have warned.

With crude oil production failing from about two million barrels in 2014 to about 900,000 barrels a day in 2022, revenue plummeted to a historic low starving the economy of the needed foreign exchange (FX) with consequences seen in falling external reserves and exhausted excess crude account.

Stakeholders told The Guardian, at the weekend, that any attempt by Tinubu to retain the office of the Minister of Petroleum Resources would amount to an invitation to catastrophe.

They insisted that Tinubu had already shot himself in the foot with the appointment of separate ministers of state for gas and petroleum, adding that only an ill-advised president would have made such a mistake, especially with the operators already struggling with the two regulators.

A few years before Buhari assigned himself the position, oil revenues were buoyant. Oil revenue was $68.44 billion in 2011 while it was $62.84 billion in 2012. It was $58 billion in 2013, $54 billion in 2014 but went nosedived to $24.79 billion in 2015.

In 2016, it was a meagre $17 billion before hitting $20.98 billion in 2017 and $32.62 billion in 2018. It was $34.21 billion in 2019. The total revenue received from the sector was $20.43 billion in 2020.

While Nigeria collected N21 trillion ($45.6 billion) from the sale of crude oil in 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), remittances to Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) were scanty as the government sustained borrowing to sustain fuel subsidy.

Sadly, the leadership issue in the oil sector comes at a time when Nigeria and other African countries are projected to record $6.7 trillion loss in stranded fossil fuel assets due to pressure from the energy transition.

Recall that investment into the sector has plunged just as crude oil reserves have stagnated at about 37 million barrels for over a decade even as religious and regional sentiments escalated in the eight years of Buhari as the petroleum minister.

The two ministers of state who served during the tenure, Ibe Kachikwu and Timipre Sylva were constantly at loggerheads with northerners dominating management of the state oil firm, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, even as decision-making favoured those who had access to the then unavailable petroleum minister.

Renowned energy expert, Prof. Wunmi Iledare, who believes that Nigeria is deliberately pushing its way to the Venezuela situation, urged Tinubu to perish the idea of making himself the Petroleum Minister.

The President, according to him, should avoid adding complex responsibilities to the enormous task of governing a complex nation, stressing: “Perhaps he has not been properly briefed about the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) institutions.”

While the Nigerian economy is on crutches with oil and gas still a major revenue earner, Iledare noted that Venezuela offers Nigeria a great lesson on what not to do concerning managing the oil and gas sector in a petroleum-dependent economy.

“The last eight years under Buhari as the Minister of Petroleum left much to be desired. The mandates in the PIA for the Minister of Petroleum are very tasking and the responsibilities are daunting.

Buhari

The institution, if moved to the presidency as was the case under Buhari, may become weaker and perhaps lead Nigeria to follow the Venezuela experience, which will mean the collapse of the oil and gas industry,” Iledare said.

He said even if the President eventually comes to terms with the complexity of the Nigerian Republic, the complexity of managing petroleum resources and the development process is not child’s play and is global in scope and structurally conservative.

Regarding two ministers of state to manage the petroleum policy anchor institution in the PIA, Iledare said he was baffled at those advising Tinubu, adding that gas resources in whatever forms are part and parcel of Petroleum Resources.

“I am shocked at the designation of a separate Minister of State for Gas Resources and another Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. Honestly, this is erroneous and perhaps, a good reflection of the lack of proper understanding of gas as a secondary energy and natural gas resources as a primary energy source. And decoupling the upstream aspect of crude oil and gas development is not recommended. It is understandable, however, if the present concern of the President is to unlock the midstream and downstream of gas. Then he must define the responsibility carefully to avoid a tug of war in the ministry. Thus, there has to be a rethinking and these are my recommendations.

“First, I still don’t understand the reasoning for separating gas resources and petroleum resources functionally. As I said earlier, petroleum is not crude oil alone. It is inclusive of liquid petroleum and gas resources as well as shale oil, shale gas, gas shale and oil shale resources to manage upstream together,” Iledare said.

The professor noted that there could be a Ministry of Petroleum and Energy with a Minister of State for Power, one for gas and another for petroleum.

He noted that the first two would be dealing with gas and power as secondary energy sources while the Minister for State for Petroleum in the Ministry of petroleum would be responsible for primary petroleum resources and crude oil value chain mandates, adding there is a lesson to learn from OBJ, who eventually surrendered the portfolio.
Iledare said a Coordinating Minister for Petroleum and Energy could then serve as the clearing and consolidating agent of ideas for connectivity concerning petroleum and energy matters in general, but stressed that this cannot be Tinubu.

The Executive Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey is also unsettled with the development, especially the separation between petroleum and gas.

The lineup of Tinubu’s ministries remained a grave danger to the environment, Bassey said as he added that three of the announced ministries, the Ministry of Gas Resources, and the Ministry of Petroleum and the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy raise special concerns at this time of our history.

“It is shocking to see that the Environment has no minister. Not appointing a minister for the environment sends a signal to Nigerians about the concern of the president for a sector that is so fundamental to their survival.

“While we have continued to raise concerns about the degraded environment, creating a Ministry of Gas Resources would only give license to the continuous gas emissions which are a major cause of climate change and attendant problems faced by our communities,” Bassey said.

He insisted that placing a special focus and promoting the gas industry, would inexorably discourage the development of cleaner and more sustainable energy alternatives thereby further creating a long-term dependency on fossil fuels, at a time when all efforts should be made to “depetrolize” the economy.

A former Chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Joseph Nwakwue said it would be difficult to justify that Tinubu would retain the Petroleum Minister position.

“We have tried that without much success,” Nwakwue said, stressing that it would have been better to appoint an oil and gas technocrat, which the country has in excess to drive growth in the sector.

“This sector is bleeding badly and gasping for air. The Nigerian economy is hugely dependent on this sector. To reverse our dwindling fortunes, nothing but a competent and tested professional would work,” Nwakwue said.

He also insisted that the separation of gas from Petroleum is ill-advised.
Former management staff at Shell, Madaki Ameh noted that the prevailing development showed that the country is headed for another incompetent handling of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

President Bola Tinubu

Ameh said: “Tinubu does not know the Oil and Gas Industry to opt to be the substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources. We will see another period of cluelessness and ineptitude in the running of the Petroleum Industry. These initiatives are going to implement the Petroleum Industry Act even more tenuous and duplicative.”

Ameh rejected the separation of the Minister of State for Oil from the Minister of State for Gas, stating that if the intention was to focus on Gas, it would only increase the level of red tape around the running of the industry, thereby increasing the cost of governance.

A renowned energy scholar at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, believes that Tinubu may be able to handle the petroleum industry better and differently than Buhari.

According to him, it has the advantage that the sector would attract the highest level of attention.

“I think the personalities of Buhari and Tinubu are different. It may not be right to use the same brush to paint them. You can infer that in the way and manner labour strikes have been addressed under the two presidents,” he noted.

Adenikinju, however, said the separation of gas from petroleum with a separate minister of state may further complicate the operations of the petroleum sector if not properly managed.

“Operators are already finding it difficult with the two regulators in the petroleum sector. There are overlaps of functions and undercurrent competition between the two regulators,” he noted.

Noting that although the arrangement could have some merits, a lot of work must be done to ensure that lines of responsibilities and jurisdictions are clearly defined.

Director at the Centre for Transparency, Faith Nwadishi, said although the President has not publicly declared himself as the minister of petroleum, such development must not happen.

“If that happens, it will be business as usual because the President is very busy handling the country and ECOWAS chair. Taking over petroleum would be back to square one.

Nwadishi lauded the gas plan, saying that a state of emergency should be declared on gas for the projected plan to be achieved.

She however warned that separating the roles and ensuring that the development does not create further instability is sacrosanct.

Kaduna State High Court sitting in Kafanchan has nullified the state government’s order banishing and restricting the Etum Arak of Arak Chiefdom, Gen. Iliya Yammah (rtd), from having access to his family, farms and people.

In a judgment delivered, yesterday, Justice John Ambi declared that Section 11(3) of Kaduna State Traditional Institution Law 2021 applied on Arak chiefdom in Sanga Local Council was inconsistent with the provisions of Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, and, therefore, null and void.

He issued: “An order compelling the respondents (Kaduna State Governor, Attorney General and Ministry of Local Government Affairs) to tender apology to the applicant (Arak chief) in two widely-circulated national dailies for infringement of his fundamental right to liberty.

“An order compelling the respondents to pay the applicant N5 millage damages for breach of his right.”

In April 2023, Governor Nasir el-Rufai sacked and banished the monarch over allegations of insubordination and non-residency in domain.

Counsel to the petitioner, Garba Pwul (SAN) and Y. Kyauta, commended the judge for the judiciary’s courage to ensure that rights of citizens were protected in the country.

Kyauta noted that the judgment nullified Section 11(3) of Kaduna State Traditional Institution Law 2021 and granted the chief of Arak freedom to move freely everywhere in the country, including Arak chiefdom.

Roma manager, Jose Mourinho is believed to be keen on Mason Greenwood after Manchester United released a statement on Monday, announcing the 21-year-old will not play for them again.

According to Mail Sport, the Serie A side are among a number of teams who have contacted United.

Following a five-month internal investigation, the Red Devils deemed that Greenwood had not committed a string of serious offences he had been charged with.

But the club, along with the player, decided that it would be best if he continued his career elsewhere.

It is unlikely that Greenwood will move to another club in England.

Instead, a switch abroad is on the cards with interest from Italy, Turkey and elsewhere.

There are strong feelers that the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, and the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) may return to the party.

Recall that the duo of Mr Peter Obi and Chief Chekwas Okorie were members of APGA before joining other political parties after serving as governor and National Chairman respectively.

Disclosing this to reporters the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA Bar Sylvester Ezeokenwa said that Mr Peter Obi would surely return to the party’s fold of noting that it is only in the party that he would actualize whatever ambition that he has.

“Peter Obi going to come back to APGA and that is his home and that is the only vehicle that will take him to his destination ”

“He attended the APGA Institute of Good Governance of which I am a student now and I tell you he would return to the party”

Ezeokenwa further announced that he has been in touch with the founding National Chairman of APGA Chief Chekwas Okorie noting that through Chekwas Okorie and other party members, the party would be able to win more states in the country”

“I am going to visit Chief Chekwas Okorie and in fact, I have spoken to him to come back to APGA because it is his home and a house he built from the foundation”

“He is like a father and he started this APGA and I told him that he cannot finish building a house and abandon it and whatever may have been his reasons he will return to APGA and together we shall rebuild the party and win other states ”

Ezeokenwa however contended that those ascribing the success of Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party to the Labour Party is wrong adding that the Labour Party cannot take the glory of APGA.

“The whole frenzy of the Labour Party or the Obidient Movement is an accolade for the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA and whatever achievements that he recorded was because of the ideology and manifesto of APGA ”

“Labor Party cannot take the glory of APGA and if Labor Party wants to campaign for its party the party should talk about the former Ondo state governor Chief Mimiko and not Peter Obi who was a member of APGA and all those achievements were when he was in our party,” he said.

The son of the chairman of Globacom Mike Adenuga, Paddy has revealed that he cooks and cleans.

The 39-year-old via his Twitter page on Monday made this known to prospective single women who’d be interested in him.

Paddy, who is yet to be married, advised unmarried women to take note of this fact about himself.

He wrote: “Ladies..just letting y’all know that I cook & clean, so have no worries – I have that taken care of also.

“Just advertising part of my CV…,”

His tweet gained a little traction, with many women commenting, and even men saying, when he is ready to pick a wife, they can introduce their sisters or female friends to him.

”you want to cause problem in ur DM today?”, one Jide Flash warned him.

”When you are ready for marriage please let me know I have beautiful sisters and female friends I can introduce to you. This your CV is giving husband material vibes.”, Sazee told him

Meanwhile, Paddy, last month, said the cost of divorce scares him.

He said that the fact that lawyers advise one to sign prenup documents before getting married takes love out of the conversation.

The Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr. Dele Alake, has explained the reasons behind his appointment into the ministry by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which stirred controversies. Alake highlighted his sense of responsibility, expertise and track record as what propelled Tinubu’s decision. He clarified that the president decided to shock Nigerians by not appointing him to the information ministry, which he has a background in.

He said: “My portfolio has upset the entire cabinet, because given my antecedents, exposure and experience in the area of perception, information management, and the likes so most people have pigeon-hole me into information and so we decided to shock everybody. “Now if you all can sit down to analyse the global trend of economic development, you would note that the hydrocarbon that is the oil is fading out and the world is moving towards alternatives like gas, electric cars and the rest. So what is the next economic growth factor? It is a solid mineral.”

…Says demolition of illegal structures inevitable

The newly sworn-in Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesome Wike on Monday said he is not in Abuja to fly the party flag, but to work hard and deliver dividends of democracy to the people.

Wike who resumed at the FCTA alongside the FCT Minister of State, Mariya Mahmoud, immediately after the oath-taking ceremony at the Presidential Villa, also vowed to demolish all illegal structures that contravene the Abuja Master Plan.

Wike’s reaction about which party’s flag his official vehicle will fly has further heightened speculations on his party membership status.

According to him, his tenure as Minister of FCT will give special attention to issues that will restore the glory of the nation’s capital, to conform with the founding father’s dream.

He further warned that land racketeering would be a thing of the past, as those who speculate in the land will meet stiff resistance.

“We will bring FCT back to where it ought to be. So many people have complained that this is not the FCT of the founding fathers. We must tackle the issue of security. FCT should be where people come for holidays.”

He warned that the Administration under his leadership will not take excuses from security agencies as they will be provided with the required tools to work as the issue of security is germane.

The minister also disclosed that he will sanitize the city and end the rise of slums and shanties across the city. Abuja has turned into a slum city. Sanitation is bad with refuse everywhere. We cannot allow that. We will look at issues of waste disposals.”

“If you know you have built where it’s not supposed to build, it will go down. Our green areas and parks must come back

“Land racketeering days are over. Those who refuse to develop turning to land speculators will loo their lands. All these are our short-term deliverables so as to bring back people’s confidence in Government.”